I don't like flats

I don't like flats. Nobody does. But I go at least one step further than most do to prevent them on my regular rides. My regular rides are currently my Big Dummy and my commuter, the 1x1. Lot's of flat phobic people use flat resistant tires. That sounds like a good idea. I do that too. Some people use regular tires with tire liners. Way to much trouble and sometimes they cause a flat. Some people use regular tires and a tubeless setup to prevent flat's. I've used that both on and off road and I like it because it works. It's a little troublesome and requires some tinkering, but it's worth it to me. You can run light tires and still have some puncture protection. The problem with regular tires is that with many of them, the rubber compound is a little soft and the tire will pick up quite a bit of debris that can work it's way into the tire far enough to cause some leakage. Usually no big deal. Sometimes though, it can cause a slow leak that will bug you for too long. This happened to me one day on the way home from work on my commuter bike shod with Specialized Nimbus tires. An odd shaped little piece of metal worked it's way into the tire enough to cause an air leak. The odd shape of the object did not let it seal with the sealant that was in the tire, so I had a slow leak. I stopped several times to pump up the tires with air, and made it home without having to add a tube to the tire. Now, if you are like me, you don't just say, "okay, a flat, I'll have one of those occasionally. " What I did was combine the most efficient flat prevention devices that I know of. I use a Schwalbe Marathon Plus with home made sealant. This tire has a built in tire liner that can't get in the way or cause a flat. My homemade sealant was swiped from a thread on MTBR. I've been using it from several years and it has always allowed me to get home without changing to a tube. So far. To show you what it can fix, this photo is from a recent adventure with the boys. I ran over a roofing felt tack with the front tire of the Big Dummy. The tack went through the protective layer of the tire. I saw and heard the tack with each wheel rotation. Remember now, I have the Big Dummy loaded with my two boys. The day is a bit warm and we are tired from our adventure down town. Now would not be an easy time for a flat. I pull out the tack and hear a little air leaking out, then rotate the tire so that the hole is on the bottom so the sealant can do it's thing. It stops leaking within seconds and we continue our adventure without a worry.